‘I’m proud’: Curtis’ Altheimer races to 4A 100M final at state track and field
Nicholas “Nico” Altheimer wants to be “that guy” in Washington — the state’s top sprinter and fastest man.
He’s still one race short of the gold medal, but Thursday’s 4A Boys 100-meter dash preliminaries certainly proved the Curtis star right.
Altheimer put on a show from the sixth and final heat, bolting to the finish line faster than any sprinter in any classification (10.52) at Mount Tahoma Stadium. He took down a 4A field of 41 total runners and outlasted Kentridge’s Berry Crosby (10.59) for Thursday’s top time, now locked into Saturday’s 4A 100-meter final with a chance to win it all.
Altheimer said he felt shaky near the halfway point of his sprint. By watching, you never would’ve known.
“I felt like I messed up, but it is what it is,” Altheimer said, smiling ear-to-ear. “I had a nice time.
“The final’s going to be something nice.”
The Curtis senior owns the state’s fastest 100-meter (10.35) and 200-meter (21.02) dashes this spring. He’s the final leg of the Vikings 4x100 relay, which set a state record at last week’s district meet as the only group to break the 41-second mark, and should contend in the 4A Boys 300-meter hurdles.
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t want to run a relay,” he said. “We slowly started getting better. And now, we’re the only team to ever go under 41 (seconds).
“We feel like we’re going to break our record and take this thing all the way.”
And he’s part of a Curtis track and field program that took home both West Central District III titles, boys and girls. There’s talent everywhere, from sprinters and distance specialists to throwers and jumpers alike.
“We’ve grown so much,” Altheimer said. “We’re basically like a big old family. I love my team. They’re the reason I am who I am, too.”
Curtis junior Shelby Duah won her preliminary heat in Thursday’s 4A Girls 100-meter hurdles (15.23), battling headwinds to finish third in a field of 20. She joins Altheimer in a quest for the gold medal.
“Every single (Viking) here has a chance to win state,” Duah said. “They’re very inclusive and super fun to be around.”
OWEN BROWN CLAIMS 4A TRIPLE JUMP TITLE
Owen Brown let the suspense build. Mount Rainier’s senior triple-jumper was last to fly in Thursday’s 4A Boys triple jump final at Mount Tahoma Stadium, needing to eclipse 45-8 for the gold.
The problem? Brown had never eclipsed 45-7 in his high school career. He’d need a new personal record despite swirling winds on a sunny Tacoma day.
“I just knew I had to run faster,” Brown said. “I put all my phases together and got a big jump.”
We’re not sure you can script the final triple jump of his Mount Rainier career any better. On his sixth and last attempt of the afternoon, Brown flew 46 feet and one inch — clearing Gonzaga Prep’s Feso Ogbozor by five inches. Class 4A had a new triple jump champion in the unlikeliest of ways.
“It feels good,” he said. “I’ve put in the work all season and was able to PR on my last jump.”
Lake Washington’s Yevhen Zhmailo, the state leader in triple jump this season (50-9.5) and favorite to win Thursday’s 4A title, was unable to compete due to an arm injury suffered Tuesday. Puyallup’s Justin Temple Jr., the defending 4A champion, grabbed the bronze medal in his repeat bid (45-5.75).
“I just found out today,” Brown said of Zhmailo’s absence. “I would’ve loved to compete against him, so I just hope he gets better.”
Brown, meanwhile, took up triple jumping only a year ago — clearing just 36 feet in his first weeks of training. By this time last spring, he improved six feet, to 42.
Make it 46-1 for the new state champ.
“Last high school meet, and I get to PR,” he said. “It’s nice.”
KANAI KENNEDY DEFENDS HOME TURF
Remember the name: Mount Tahoma’s Kanai Kennedy has arrived.
The T-Birds freshman crushed an overall field of 32 runners by 0.15 seconds in Thursday’s 3A Boys 100-meter preliminaries (10.79), a treat for the home crowd at Mount Tahoma Stadium that locks him into Saturday’s final race.
“A lot of headwinds, but I came through,” Kennedy said. “I feel strong.”
Kennedy won last week’s West Central District III championships in a personal-record 10.61 seconds, the seventh-fastest recorded time in the state this spring. And with three state meets still to come, it’s difficult to project a ceiling for the Mount Tahoma freshman.
“It’s fun (here at state),” Kennedy said. “There’s a lot of new people I get to meet. I just get out here, make good memories, and have fun.
“Every time I line up at the blocks, I want to win. I just want to win every time.”
LOCAL TRACK STANDOUTS
– Curtis’ Kellen McInelly ran a 4:11.09 mile to finish third in the 4A Boys 1600-meter run. Tahoma’s Cooper Boyle finished fourth (4:11.19).
– Olympia distance runner Sydney Kosa finished second in the 4A Girls 1600-meter run (4:47.45) and Bonney Lake’s Latham West took fifth (4:53.05).
– Kentridge’s Berry Crosby (10.59) and Jordan Miller (10.62) won their preliminary heats in the 4A Boys 100-meter dash to qualify for Saturday’s final. Only Curtis’ Altheimer was faster among a total field of 41.
– He doesn’t hail from the South Sound, but Mercer Island’s Owen Powell won Thursday’s 3A Boys 1600-meter run (4:03.68) — breaking the state meet record held by Lakes’ Izaic Yorks from 2012 (4:04.77).
“I was really decisive with my moves today,” Powell said. “I had a plan going around 800 (meters) to go, and I stuck with that plan. Because I was so decisive and went hard at that moment, that really helped me today.”
LOCAL FIELD STANDOUTS
– Kent-Meridian’s Marcella Jones took home silver in the 3A Girls Long Jump (18-11.5) and finished runner-up to Mercer Island’s Aaliyah Khan (19-4.5), who set a new meet record.
– It’s a tie! Olympia’s Lydia Bailey and Mariner’s Drea Harris shared the leaderboard’s top spot in the 4A Girls Shot Put at Mount Tahoma Stadium (41-10.5).
– Lincoln’s Dre Sio-Fetaui, a three-star football recruit, finished seventh in the 3A Boys Discus Throw (161-7).
– Tumwater’s Aaron Paul finished runner-up in the 2A Boys High Jump (6-6), and T-Birds senior McKayla Clary grabbed fifth in the 2A Girls Javelin Throw (122-1).
TEAM SCOREBOARD
4A BOYS — Olympia (13), Camas (12), Moses Lake (11)
4A GIRLS — Olympia (18), Kamiakin (11), Lake Washington (10)
3A BOYS — Mount Spokane (14), Kennewick (13), Evergreen of Vancouver (10), Mercer Island (10), Prairie (10)
3A GIRLS — Mercer Island (20), Gig Harbor (10), Walla Walla (10)
2A BOYS — Anacortes (24), Tumwater (18), Ellensburg (17)
2A GIRLS — Sehome (20), Bellingham (10), Cedarcrest (10), Lynden (10), Port Angeles (10)
This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 7:02 PM.
